Sunny’s TV debut on track

Contrary to rumours, the stunt-based reality show will go on air by year-end.

tvUpdated: Sep 01, 2011 00:16 IST

Rachana Dubey

Hindustan Times

Actor Sunny Deol’s TV debut, with a stunt-based show titled Jaanbaaz, was allegedly in a limbo. According to reports, the reality show, created by Colosceum production house, was likely to be scrapped following technical issues.

The show is a competition between the industry’s top stunt men, who will fight it out for a chance to direct their own action sequences in a movie, apart from a hefty cash prize. It was said that the unit had shot many episodes with the usual cameras and technical set up, but were now being pushed to re-shoot everything on an HD (high definition) camera, which made things difficult.

There were supposedly discussions between the channel and the production house on whether the show should be taken off the floors and whether more money should be pumped into the show’s production at this stage.

Reports said that the show was supposed to replace Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs in the last week of September. However, our well-placed source in the channel confirms that the show is on track and will be on air before the year ends. “A huge amount of money has been spent on the production. The kind of stunts being performed have never been seen before in Hindi movies or on any other TV show. The production house has shot about 15 episodes on HD cameras, because that is what they started with. We’re just left with 10 episodes to shoot,” adds the source.

The source, on condition of anonymity, further says that the sets are lavish and the show has been shot across the city and a few scenic locations in Maharashtra. “The rains have been playing havoc. We can’t put up a set and let it get washed away with the monsoon showers. So, we have to wait for a dry spell to complete those episodes. We’re also working on getting proper dates from Sunny,” our source informs.

When asked, a spokesperson from Zee TV, the show’s broadcaster, says, “Jaanbaaz is not scrapped. It is a show shot outdoors and the weather conditions don’t permit any shooting at the moment.”